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Milk not filling enough?

Hey guys, I couldn't find much info on this anywhere.
My baby boy is now 9 months and of a healthy weight(not sure, we are due for a check-up in 2 weeks. Six month visit he was 16lbs.150z).
He is a huge eater and has always been. He still eats as frequently as a little newborn, most times every 1 1/2 to 2 hours! it does not matter whether it is solids or breast milk, by two hours he is hungry! I sometimes even breastfeed a full sitting and then follow with solids! It doesn't matter what I give him or really how much, his stomach just seems to empty based on the passage of time. Anyway, I am getting the feeling lately my milk is doing NOTHING for him, like its water, like I'm the personal water cooler. I am very confident my milk supply is adequate, and I am of good health. Could the composition just be super low in fat at this point? I know by a year they say it is not nutrionally adequate to be the sole food, but maybe it happens in some women's milk faster than others? Or is it possible he is nursing for comfort and telling me he is done before he is full so that I should follow with solids after every bf session? He is waking 2-4x a night to feed still. He eats a huge variety food, does not turn down anything, and I am cutting down on pureed food and giving him a lot more healthy finger foods and more hearty choices, hoping he will stay full awhile!
What's going on? The only thing I found online was related to night feeding, and it said to stick mainly to one breast so the fat content is higher and baby sleeps longer. Should I start weaning? Thanks!

Mama to baby Haden Gabriel born naturally 06/04/07
used to but got the hang of -loving it but exhausted!

Re: Milk not filling enough?

My baby boy is now 9 months and of a healthy weight(not sure, we are due for a check-up in 2 weeks. Six month visit he was 16lbs.150z).

That sounds great!

Originally Posted by dreamcmtru

He is a huge eater and has always been. He still eats as frequently as a little newborn, most times every 1 1/2 to 2 hours! it does not matter whether it is solids or breast milk, by two hours he is hungry! I sometimes even breastfeed a full sitting and then follow with solids! It doesn't matter what I give him or really how much, his stomach just seems to empty based on the passage of time.

Could you please tell us a bit more about your baby's nursing pattern? About how many times total does he nurse in 24 hours? Are the sessions relatively short? About how much solids does he take in per day?

Originally Posted by dreamcmtru

Anyway, I am getting the feeling lately my milk is doing NOTHING for him, like its water, like I'm the personal water cooler. I am very confident my milk supply is adequate, and I am of good health. Could the composition just be super low in fat at this point? I know by a year they say it is not nutrionally adequate to be the sole food, but maybe it happens in some women's milk faster than others?

Foremilk has more water content by volume. It's not unusual for babies to sometimes nurse just long enough to quench their thirst (and touch base with mom ).

Or is it possible he is nursing for comfort and telling me he is done before he is full so that I should follow with solids after every bf session? He is waking 2-4x a night to feed still. He eats a huge variety food, does not turn down anything, and I am cutting down on pureed food and giving him a lot more healthy finger foods and more hearty choices, hoping he will stay full awhile!

You sound concerned about how often your baby is nursing and eating solids. Could you tell us a bit more about what your concerns are? Are you worried about the frequency of feeding? Nutritional needs? Weight gain?

What are your nursing goals, dreamcmtru?

Originally Posted by dreamcmtru

Should I start weaning?

That is a personal decision--only you and your baby know when it's time to wean! You have started the process of weaning. That begins when baby starts eating solid foods. How you proceed beyond that is up to you and your baby.

Re: Milk not filling enough?

I would just like to share that when my child got to be a year old with the help of the organization I looked into the nutritional content and how it changes after the year point. I have to say there is still a TON of nutrition in it and the level of antibodies actually increases. And there was enough nutritional value that it helped me feel less pressure around solids as I felt that breast milk filled on those gaps very nicely when I wasn't yet sure I could be trusted to given him healthy, well rounded nutritional meals all the time. All this to say Please don't think that now or ever there will be a time when your Breast milk will have "No nutritional value. Your milk will continue to change to meed the needs of your child!!!

Re: Milk not filling enough?

Wow! I couldn't believe it when I read your post . . .
I am the mom of Gabriel Elijah, born June 4, 2007.
AND his eating patterns sound so similar to your Haden. He had reflux from the beginning but always still ate very well. Solids . . . never refused anything, ate fantastically, continued nursing the same. Still nurses 3-4 times a night. Even with all that he's a healthy but lean baby. (21 lb., 28 1/2 inches)

I know it's not always reccommended and I didn't really want to, but at 8 months, we started giving him a 5-oz bottle of formula at night before sleeping. He had gotten really fussy consistently for a month and though I nursed and nursed, and we considered multiple options, nothing worked. When we introduced that extra formula boost, the fussing disappeared. He was just hungry and my supply was low I guess. He's up to 3x a day of a good amount of solids and typically nurses 4x a day in addition to 3-4x at night. (Currently we're experiencing a setback, but that's in another post). I sometimes wonder if some babies just have a faster metabolism, like some adults do.

Anyway, nice to "meet" the first birthday-sharing-baby mom since my son's birth! And the name-sharing is an additional crazy thing!

Re: Milk not filling enough? more info

Haden nurses about 6-8x a day, for sessions usually about 10mins long, 15max. In 24hrs, I would say it is between 8-10 times. There are two days a week i am gone for 6 hours, which he is fed all solids, and then nurses the rest of the day. A typical day when I am not at work a lot of times i alternate every other feeding,bf, solid, bf, solid....and then bf at night. I have just started offering Haden a 6oz bottle of formula right before bed, like Croyla mentions in her response. He sucks it right down and sleeps his usual long first stretch, but still awakens to eat the same amount of time later as if I had bf.(about 3.5-4hrs later)
In regards to solids, I am not sure how much he is taking now that I hardly give him the jars of baby food(he was blazing thru 2 1/2 jars at a time so I figured it was time to give him cut up portions of healthy food i had made). He is eating what seems to me like what a 2 year old might eat at any given sitting.
I guess now that you ask, i don't know exactly what i am asking! I think I am just feeling confused about this crazy eating, and wondering if i am missing any cues he might be trying to give me regarding bf. I also wonder if his personal little metabolism is faster than some babies, he is on the leaner side and I wonder where all that food i put into him goes!
I also sometimes have feelings like my milk is not good enough anymore, and that is an emotional issue i am dealing with. I am totally having mixed feelings though, one minute I am fine and content to bf and later I am wishing to wean and tired of the whole thing. The most frustrating part of bf for me is the night feeding though, but we co-sleep, so i am having a hard time envisioning how cutting it out would work.

Mama to baby Haden Gabriel born naturally 06/04/07
used to but got the hang of -loving it but exhausted!